Ajay Chautala asked to bear travel expense of CBI witnesses

A Delhi court on Thursday directed INLD MLA Ajay Chautala to bear travel expenses of two prosecution witnesses who could not be cross-examined due to non- appearance of his counsel in a disproportionate assets case, while the jailed lawmaker too was absent due to "dehydration".

indiaUpdated: May 30, 2013 19:23 IST

PTI None

A Delhi court on Thursday directed INLD MLA Ajay Chautala to bear travel expenses of two prosecution witnesses who could not be cross-examined due to non- appearance of his counsel in a disproportionate assets case, while the jailed lawmaker too was absent due to "dehydration".

Special CBI judge Manu Rai Sethi imposed cost on Chautala after his counsel failed to appear before him to cross-examine the two prosecution witnesses who will now appear on July 9.

The two witnesses were examined by the CBI counsel and were left to be cross-examined.

Ajay Chautala also could not be brought to the court from Tihar jail on Thursday. A wireless message was sent by jail authorities that he is suffering from dehydration.

The court is hearing a disproportionate assets case against Ajay Chautala. Two other similar cases are pending before it against his brother Abhay Chautala and their father and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala.

The cases were filed on a complaint by Haryana Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala.

Chautala is at present lodged in Tihar jail after being sentenced to ten years imprisonment by another CBI court in the 1999-2000 junior teacher recruitment scam.

Former chief minister OP Chautala was also sentenced to ten year imprisonment in the same case. He, is, at present out on interim bail on medical grounds.

Ajay Chautala is accused of possessing assets exceeding his legal income by 339.27 percent. His legal income between May 1993 to May 2006 was Rs 8.17 crore. However, he acquired assets worth Rs 27.7 crore, CBI alleged.

The probe agency also accused OP Chautala of possessing 189 per cent more assets than his legal income between 1993-2006 while Abhay Chautala was accused of owning assets worth over five times his income during the 2000-2005.